A white rarity

South Carolina Aquarium officials have chosen the act to follow those four playful penguins that took the attraction's attendance numbers to record heights despite a raging recession.

Next up: a rare white alligator.

Kevin Mills, aquarium president and chief executive, said the aquarium next spring will welcome an adult American alligator, a species that lives in South Carolina's Piedmont and Coastal Plain.

"He's not quite as cute and cuddly as penguins," Mills said.

But he is one of fewer than 50 living albino alligators, a light-sensitive creature that requires special care. Mills said the new addition likely would not survive in the wild but that its presence in the aquarium can help to tell "the great success story" of the American alligator.

As aquarium Education Director Whit McMillan explained, the alligator's population dropped significantly, especially in South Carolina. Following legal protections, the population recovered with enough stride to allow a limited hunting season.

McMillan said the white alligator also will help the aquarium explain adaptations, such as the pressure-sensing pores around the animal's head or its double-membrane eyes.

The alligator will come from an accredited Association of Zoos and Aquariums facility, but with the deal unfinished officials would not disclose the specifics.

Aquarium attendance showed an immediate jump after

Penguin Planet launched in March, with nearly 37 percent more visitors than projected for April. Admissions revenue for the most recent quarter exceeded the same period last year by 30 percent.

Aquarium officials have not decided whether to extend the penguins' stay beyond a year. The birds belong to SeaWorld San Diego, and their habitat is a temporary, traveling exhibit.

The alligator will become the crown jewel of an existing exhibit called the Blackwater Swamp, which opened with the aquarium nearly 10 years ago. Aquarium officials plan to alter the habitat, which needs renovations anyway, to welcome the alligator.

The costliest change will be the most obvious: creating a barrier between the top of the water and guests' hands.

A new herpetologist, or reptile and amphibian specialist, will join the aquarium staff in the coming weeks and care for the alligator. Until now the same employee handled reptiles, amphibians and birds, including the penguins.

The albino alligator will require special attention, according to officials at the North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher, which introduced a white reptile in May.

Luna, a 4-year-old female American alligator, cannot receive direct sunlight and requires a weekly cleaning, the officials said. Because she's white and lives in a pond, algae could tint her green.

Staff trained Luna to touch a red and white striped pole with her nose and receive food in exchange. While she "target trains," other staff members perform a full-body scrub-down with a fine-grain toothbrush.

Having the alligator has paid off, according to public relations coordinator Amy Kilgore. Attendance at the North Carolina aquarium for June, July and August grew 16 percent compared with the same months last year, she said.

Kilgore said Luna was born in an area of Louisiana known for its albino alligator nest. The rare species became even more elusive after Hurricane Katrina in 2005, according to Kilgore, when that nest disappeared.